One Man Two Guvnors

One Man, Two Guvnors, written by Richard Bean, is an English adaptation of “A Servant of Two Masters”, a 1743 Commedia dell’arte style play by Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni.  It moves the setting from Italy to Brighton of 1963 and opened at The National Theatre in London in 2011, famously starring James Corden in the role of Francis Henshall.

Director Eric Parker has to be praised for taking on the mighty task of masterminding the frenetic action, a multitude of strange props, a complex set and many difficult scene changes, at the same time as drawing some excellent performances from his cast.

We were greeted on arrival by a three-piece band on stage, playing a good selection of 60s music and giving us a nice feel for the setting of the play. They reappeared during the scene changes and were joined at times by members of the cast. The excellent set was transformed into many different locations by the hard-working stage crew who also, somehow, managed to control the nightmare quantities of props and food that were used, especially during the meal scene! My congratulations to stage manager Di Wallsgrove and her crew –  I will be attempting the same in a month’s time and only now realise what I’ve let myself in for! Costumes were all appropriate for the period and the stage was consistently well lit.

Ben Gander was outstanding in the exhausting but pivotal role of Francis Henshall – the man with two employers. Not only did he have to master a complex script, he had to cope with interactions with the audience and their unpredictable consequences. He handled it all with consummate ease and consistently good characterisation, making Francis the very likeable character he needs to be. His first employer, Rachael Crabbe (masquerading as her dead “identical” twin brother Roscoe), was given great depth by Stephanie Taylor – very convincing in the male role, in manner and voice, before finally emerging like a butterfly as Rachael. The second employer, Stanley Stubbers, was played with great gusto by Dominic Clarke – an upper class twit very much in the mould of Rick Mayall as Lord Flashheart in Blackadder. A great performance, consistently (and very appropriately) over the top.

Good support was given by the other members of the cast, notably Suzanna Tompkins as secretary Dolly, perfectly bossy and flirtatious; Sian Slaney, the ideal Pauline Clench, dumbest of dumb blondes and former girlfriend of “ginger” Roscoe, but really in love with budding actor Alan Dangle – played with a nice touch by Ryan Watts, in real luvvie style, complete with dramatic gestures and dialogue. I must also give huge praise to Glynn Williams as the ancient waiter Alfie – his physical comedy was outstanding and so well executed – and also the lady (sorry, I couldn’t find your name in the programme) who played the “volunteer” from the audience so convincingly.

A good pace was maintained throughout each scene, especially the slapstick pub meal, where total chaos reigned. However, this pace and the mood of the play were lost during the many scene changes, when the band came on to play. Although a great idea, giving an authentic flavour of the 1960s, I felt that recorded music, which could have been faded out as soon as the scene changes were complete, might have caused less of an interruption and improved the continuity of the show.

This minor gripe aside, this was another splendid performance, well up to the high standard I’ve come to expect from this talented group.

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